I was chatting with my nephew last night about the usual - the latest movies, video games, and well, school. I am proud that he has taken up the challenging IB program- the poor guy gets up at 4:30 AM, sits on a bus for two hours to get to school, comes home after a 2 hour bus ride, works on a pile of homework and is lucky to be in bed by 11:00 - certainly not enough sleep for a 15 year old.
In any case, I wonder where all that motivation goes after we start our careers. I think back to when I was in school - what triggered me to make sure I made it to school every day (besides the parent dragging me) - and that I strived to make it to the top of my class at all costs - be it sleep or tv time? Certainly not pay.
Perhaps the idea that we could be going to the best universities? Being socially accepted (so that if someone didn't make it to university they were a social outcast)? Fear? Or, maybe it’s just down to the environment one is surrounded with.
One of the toughest things to deal with at work - is when mediocrity becomes accepted. Being motivated to stay late at the office, go above and beyond at a project, even perhaps state an extra opinion or present passion about something in a meeting is hard to do when one's colleagues are not faced with consequences or the same expectations. I wonder how much motivation really has to do with the 'reward' factor versus being surrounded by people who are held to the same standard and are driven by the same set of goals.
It worked for me at school - we were all enrolled in the IB program, we all had the same goals - and well, if you were not capable of producing results - then off to regular high school curriculum you went.
What motivational triggers are organizations lacking that so many of us in our youth already had?
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